SYDNEY 2000: BASKETBALL; After Another Near-Death Experience, U.S. Wins Gold

When Antoine Rigaudeau stepped up and knocked down a 3-pointer with 4 minutes 26 seconds left this afternoon, another alleged cakewalk in the men's basketball tournament turned into riveting theater at the Super Dome in Olympic Park, the unthinkable again on the minds of the 14,883 in attendance.

The United States, more flawed and fallible over the past 48 hours than any other Olympic dynasty, was suddenly ahead by only 4 points against unheralded France -- a nation that had not competed in a gold medal basketball game since 1948.

''You could feel the crowd getting into it, thinking maybe they can do it,'' Allan Houston said. ''We've come to hate that feeling the last few days.''

Before this collection of National Basketball Association All-Stars was undone after France came back from 17 points down to compete with the world's best players, before shades of Lithuania resurfaced, the Americans banished that feeling and quelled the revolution for four more years.

Kevin Garnett scored on an offensive rebound with 3:56 left to soothe the worried look on Coach Rudy Tomjanovich's face. A couple of free throws by Alonzo Mourning, a turnaround jumper from Garnett, and within moments the Americans had claimed their third straight gold medal, 85-75.

Vince Carter threw down the exclamation point, a double-clutch reverse dunk with 1:40 left, and blew a kiss to the crowd. He wept openly in his mother Michelle Carter's arms after the medal ceremony.

Like his teammates, he resembled a man who had been through a physical as well as emotional struggle. As the United States players applauded the French and Lithuanians, who won the bronze, they seemed to understand that winning gold was never a given.

''I think if we came in here and blew everybody out, we might not have appreciated it,'' Shareef Adbur-Rahim said. ''But we know we fought for this.''

Carter and Ray Allen each scored 13 points to lead the Americans, who finished the tournament 8-0 but won only two games by more than 40 points and posted the lowest margin of victories in international play featuring teams made up of N.B.A. players.

The Americans outrebounded the French, 35-20. Laurent Sciarra and Rigaudeau, the French backcourt duo that gave the United States major problems from the perimeter, finished with 19 and 10 points, respectively.

Cyril Julian, the bruising French forward whose dream was to play against his hero, Mourning, ended up with 11 points and the memory of a Mourning elbow in his jaw.

For much of the game, there seemed to be no terrifying prospect of losing. Gone was the pressure of having to convert two baskets in the final minute to hold off Lithuania, 85-83, in Friday's semifinal game that almost shook the basketball world.

Unburdened and uninhibited, the United States seemed to subscribe to a more cavalier motto for the gold medal game: run, gun and have fun.

Carter was brilliant early, scoring 9 of Team USA's first 20 points for a 20-9 lead. He seemed to strain his back near the end of the half while attempting a dunk, but popped up quickly.

For the past two weeks, the Americans at times did not endear themselves to the Australian crowds. Boorish behavior -- death stares, trash-alk that many foreign opponents could not understand, and occasional forearms to the neck -- almost obscured the players' superior athleticism. If not the team to beat, Team USA became the team to root against.

There were a few moments today when the United States showed its testy side, yet the crowd spared the Americans the indignity of constant jeers. In showing how fallible they could be against Lithuania, the Americans were less N.B.A. superstars than ballplayers who had a rough night on Friday.

The Lithuanians came back two nights after almost pulling off the upset of the Games to defeat Australia, 89-71, for the bronze medal. Playing a stingy brand of defense, running the Boomers -- the Australian team's nickname -- off the court in the first half.

Sarunas Jasikevicius, the flat-topped guard whose name international journalists were trying to learn how to spell after he nearly stunned the United States with a 3-pointer at the buzzer that fell short, looked as polished as he did on Friday night. He scored 22 points and distributed 6 assists, running the Lithuanian attack to precision.

With Commissioner David Stern in attendance and the memory of Friday's near upset still fresh, a general perception abounded today at the Super Dome: the world was catching up. Whether N.B.A. superstars can bring themselves to admit that fact or not is up for debate.

''I just hope it's four years away,and after I'm retired,'' Stern said. ''The N.B.A. is still the gold standard. But the reality is, the world is catching up. I'm sure there are some N.B.A. scouts jotting things down and you may see some of these players in training camp.''

Stern was told: ''Alonzo said that the U.S. would never be beaten at the Olympics in his lifetime.''

Stern smiled. ''I don't know how long he's planning to live,'' he said.

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A version of this article appears in print on October 1, 2000, on Page 8008001 of the National edition with the headline: SYDNEY 2000: BASKETBALL; After Another Near-Death Experience, U.S. Wins Gold. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe